This is my "State of the World Address: 2018 DMC707 vintage bicycle edition "

I'm in a pic thread state of mind (weather is too windy to do much and I'm bored )

Honestly, not a lot of changes this year to last --- I just walked around the house and took a few pics of my machinery in their "as-is" condition this morning and thought i'd share




This was, is and likely shall be for a while the most prolific of my collection -- need to take it down and dust it -- a chain would be nice as well



This one comes off the wall at times --- but since the re-paint I'm almost afraid to get it scratched up again -- funny how that works --- The wheelset is great for a wall hanger, but I would like to put a decent set of box section tubulars on it for riding around ----- this wheelset is heavy




I gotta admit, the Ciocc rarely moves under its own power --- I am tempted to put a early generation Ergopower parts kit on it to see if that would give me some incentive to ride it more though, --- but since the bike is so complete as it is, I almost don't want to mess with it



I was thrilled with the upright riding position and triple chainset on this blue/purple DeBErnardi when I first built it, and I still like the upright position, --- but the flex in that Technomic stem and the business of shifting back and forth through 3 front chainrings has had it sitting on the shelf for a while ----




Not strictly C&V, but this one reportedly had team provenance and is the lightweight "climbing blend" of carbon fiber --- it was complete minus the wheels and handlebar/stem combo when I procured it and I have spoken to the potential rider in question ---- He couldn't confirm nor deny because he stated that they truly went through A LOT of bikes back then . Someone painstakingly removed the USPS decals and just covered the area with black tape

There's no number plate holder, but after looking at a bunch of inter-web photos, its inconclusive as the only bikes I saw with holders were TdF bikes

Still working out the details on its murky past , and its a slick bike to ride, but a bit long in the TT for me




Latest addition to the family --- I've done a couple of short loops close to my house on this one ---- downtube shifting is challenging when you're chubby -- LOL

The gritty headset and lackluster wheelset performance tells me that servicing the bearings all the way around , maybe the freewheel too, is long overdue and I will update with a re-build thread when I get that done




The Colnago just got leaned against the spin bike and pedals swapped to my track bike recently ---- ITs a great ride -- this is where it still sits -- gotta do something about that




This is the last road bike I actually put any miles on ---- also leaned unceremoniously wherever it will lay ---- This is kind of a big bike for me -- its a 54, but it has a longish top tube --- I installed 165 cranks on it -helps me open up my hip angle a little and I regard it as my "spin trainer" --- I fully expected the oversize steel to be a harsh ride with the carbon back end, --- but its my smoothest riding bike in my inventory , but as is the fashion of the day, clearance for anything over 25c is pretty tight



Nothing yet -- not even that beautiful red Colnago -- has been able to come along and knock this off its pedestal as the top dog --- still the most spirited ride in the stable



I never really considered the Waterford to be THAT vintage --- its just an old track bike, --- but I hadn't taken it out in a while, - this was its first trip to a facility in years, but local officials are trying to close my home track, so I thought i'd bring out a special bike for a special ride ---- didn't have time to mess with a new set of tubulars, so I just bolted on a set of cheapie SS/FG type clinchers with Conti GP 4000's to hit the boards again, and they worked great
The super deep traditional Cinelli sprint bars and stem were not going to work with my current round physique so I tacked on the adapter and some road bars (The trackies call them "enduro bars" ) to give 'er one last go


I am really surprised at the continued compliments I got on the bike while there . I think the old adage "Quality never goes out of style" - will always ring true
--- even in a sea of $8000 carbon machines, lugged steel can stand out

I know for any of us with too much machinery and perhaps too large a beer gut, people may shake their heads and say --- "does that guy even ride those things?"

Well, I do ---- sad day at the Frisco TX track (Dallas area) as it may have been the last day of riding unless some serious technicalities get sorted out ----- wind chill was in the 20's, but I bundled up and joined a small handful of folks to get in some laps




A guy my size needs to maintain at least 17-18 mph minimum to stay up on this track safely on street tires as it was cold and rubber compounds do weird things in the cold, ----- so in this pic, the lungs were really hurting ! Just sat in the truck for 30 minutes afterward with the heater on full blast trying to get my toes to move , but was worth it

was a privilege to ride with some of the more accomplished athletes who came out!






This is probably the closest i'll ever get to one of these also !



I've actually got more riding in in the last month despite the weather than I have the previous few months combined !




gratuitous pic of my staff, just because they were following me around wondering why I was snapping pics of bikes laying about



My head of security is wearing her new National Team kit !





Here's to an awesome 2018 for us all !

next pic thread will be pics from the attic and my warehouse, --- but that's mostly parts bikes ---- there might be some dusty gold up there still , IDK, but I have been so busy trying to downsize my collection a bit and just concentrating on optimizing the current bikes for my needs (playing with bar width, crank length, etc) - that I don't see myself adding anything again for a while unless something really cool came up

Amazing collection, thanks for sharing.

Thanks for the show around the house and the musings, DMC.

Great collection! Thanks for sharing.

We have a late fall day at Kissena Velodrome in Queens. I didn't go the past two years. It's a fun event. It's a really humble velodrome, and the location sucks, but it's our velodrome.

I've been lucky to have the SD within reasonable driving distance for years and regrettably haven't made it out enough, - but one of my "bucket list" type things to do is to ride at as many of our nation's velodromes as I can

I have heard of Kissena - it sounds a lot like Penrose, down in Missouri . And the only one in the NYC area, so it is definitely on the dream list

I spent some time on Long Island after h'cane Sandy and would love to go back for a visit

I hope Alpenrose is on your list.

So you were one of the heroes who helped with rescue or rebuilding? Thank you for your service!

Kissena has lots of problems, and I don't want to be disrespectful or ungrateful. And forgive me if I get the history wrong. What I know is that it was built in 1964 for the World's Fair. It's on a swamp. They didn't lay a proper concrete foundation. It's paved with asphalt. The asphalt develops cracks and ripples, so the surface is rough to ride on. And Turn 4 has some weirdness to the curve which is too subtle to see with your eye, but it swings the rider around as if they're in a slingshot. And it is in a very windy spot. And it is not regulation size; it's actually large. I think it's about 440 meters instead of normal which I think is 333 meters. And it's in a remote location. Driving through Queens is hard enough, and it takes an hour and 20 minutes to get there in normal traffic, even though it's less than 13 miles from my home. I usually rode there on my bike, and that also took an hour and 20 minutes. Sometimes I took my bike on the subway, and that also took an hour and 20 minutes! Argh! And riding a track bike through all those hairy city streets is quite fatiguing. If I go back this summer to race again, an idea I am remotely entertaining, I'll get a ride with someone if possible. Or I might do something weird like tow my track bike with a road bike.

Still, it's an institution with a warm crowd using it. Somehow they raised the money to repave it a few years ago, but because of the swampy location and lack of foundation, the surface started deteriorating immediately. It's our beloved velodrome. We know there aren't any others between here and the National Velodrome in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. I have friends who would DRIVE DOWN FROM BOSTON to race at Kissena, because it is their nearest velodrome! They drove back that night.

Please do come and visit. I'll make you a mean brunch and give you an amazing bike or walking tour of NYC.

I just realized I wrote a wordy reply on a pictures thread. Oops. So here are some pictures of me at the velodrome.

This was summer of 2014, so that's four years ago, not three.

It is, --- I know Rock Hill has done it now too, but the idea of a concrete track that steep has always seemed like an awesome idea



I'm an insurance adjuster -- so I guess I played a role in the re-building, -- sadly, I tend to get yelled out a lot too . Its fun when your everyone's best friend on Day 1 , then by day 30 (or 60 or 90) , - half your customers hate you

A walking tour of NYC with a native son for a guide would be amazing

You head up to NYC and plan to meet-up with [MENTION=152773]noglider[/MENTION], let me know when. I would love to get in on a tour up there, I can combine a visit to our son and daughter-in-law, up in New Hampshire. PLEASE!!!!!

Bill

The original is always the best. Shooting the messenger is always the short sighted go to. Let us know if you get up here as well.